I am the wife of a soldier, and the mother of two little ones (ages 3 and 1). I am passionate about my God, my family, and my country. I chose the title for my blog because I started it around the time that we found out my husband would be going to Iraq. I am so proud of his service to our country. Also I am constantly striveing to become more like christ. Hence the title "passionate patriot conforming to 'His' image.
I will be ordering some more Thoene books to read
Jun. 10, 2008~ Spring is here and it is time for planting. ~
I have been trying my hand at homesteading a little bit at a time. Last year I purchased a Nutrimill grain mill, and have been grinding my own flour. I was making bread for a while, but since my husband left, we just haven't been eating it fast enough before we have to throw the rest of the loaf away. So I have instead been making pita pockets. Then I have been putting them in the freezer, and taking them out a couple at a time when I need to make sandwiches. It has worked really well. I also have been making my own tortillas and freezing them too. The nice thing about the pita pockets is that they are only flour, salt, yeast, and water. Very easy to make.
( I would show you pictures of all this stuff, but my hubby took the camera with him to Iraq.)
Now that it is spring, I am helping my dad so I can learn to garden. (my parents do so many things so well, but they never taught us how to do them. So I have asked my dad to teach me.) We planted tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, and bell peppers. I am also learning how to grow plants from seeds. I am mostly learning this from the internet, and trial and error. My first seeds all died. Then I got online and found out that I am supposed to put plastic rap over the seeds. So I did that, and they germinated wonderfully. But then I didn't know when I was supposed to transplant them. I waited to long and lost all but two seedlings of my Cilantro, and three seedlings of my Parsley. I finally got them transplanted yesterday. I hope they continue to grow. If These grow into full size plants, then I am going to try Rosemary, garlic chives, basil, and green peppers.
I thought about purchasing a book to teach me how to grow vegitables indoors. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good book on this subject? To be honest, I am so new to this that I haven't a clue were to look.
Today, the kids and I are going strawberry picking. Then in a couple of weeks we want to go blackberry picking. I would love to plant my own bushes, but I can only take on so much at one time. I am still learning some of this other stuff. Plus, we don't have a lot of land, so I want to do what I can with what the Lord has given us, then when the Lord blesses us with land I will be ready for it.
I used to make Jelly with my grandma when I was a kid, but it has been a long time. I am going to try to make jam with the strawberries and blackberries that I pick. I also want to start making and canning my own tomato sauce and salsa. I have always done the Ragu sauce, but have recently noticed, that they have started putting high fructose corn syrup in some of it. It seems like everything is getting that stuff in it now. Plus, it would save a lot of money if I make spaghetti sauce out of the tomatoes that I grow.
This has all been a fun learning experience. I cannot wait to master this and move on to something else. Like making my own butter and yogurt. My cousin does that. Hopefully when I am ready for that step she will teach me. Happy homesteading.
